Glory, glory!

Back when I was in middle school, it was suggested to me that I start playing more than one sport. Hockey had been my life when not in school for so long that my parents feared that I might get burned out. It also would provide me with alternate ways to stay in shape once the hockey season was over and to get into shape before it began.

So I jumped at the chance. In seventh grade I signed up for the soccer team in the fall and the laccrosse team in the spring. The months in-between would be spent at Sport-O-Rama and on the Garden State Parkway.

So began my interest in The Beautiful Game. I was a goalie, and a damn good one at that. Why they still talk about my save on a peanlty kick which preserved a 0-0 draw against Felix Festa in the fall of '87. Yes, many-a Capri Sun juice pouches were consumed on that day my friend. Although it is a funny sight; to picture 12 middle schoolers trying to douse each other those things....the straws are just too small so all it wound up looking like was a poorly constructed and malfunctioning fruit punch fountain.

But I digress....

The seed was planted and cultivated with stints in high school. It was there, in the fall of '91 when the playing career ended on a crisp, cool evening in Montvale, NJ. There was little fanfare.

Like all soccer players I began to take a keen interest in the professional leagues. Unfortuantely the MLS was not formed until 1996 so there is no hometown team to root for. As a result, the love lies dormant for the college years. Girls become important, good thing too beacuse I met my wife during this time.

Then one night I'm watching the television and I see some highlights from the English Premier League. It was a goal scored by a French player named Eric Cantona. Now even with my limited knowledge (at the time) of soccer I knew that this was a spectacular goal. However, it was the celebration which caused me to sit up and proclaim, in pure Ryan McKenna fashion, "That was freakin' awesome!" Click the link below to see what I am talking about:

Cantona












Pretty cool, right?

Cantona played for Manchester United and after further study from me, I found out he was a legend there. What's more, I found out that he was not the only one to play for this team. Legendary players like George Best, Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson seemed to find their way to United and increase their profile. I also found out that United were the champions of the EPL at the time. This is an important fact, which I will get back to.

I made a mental note about this team and wished that there were more games from England on television. I would not, at the time, consider myself a hard core fan (like I am with the Islanders) but a curious observer who had more than the average amount of knowledge about the team. Time passes again....

Jump to May of 1999. I am checking the listings for the upcoming week and low and behold, there is a United game on the schedule. This is not just any game, but the final of the Champions League. The Champions League is an annual competition which pits the best teams from every European league in a year long competition which will eventually crown a champion of Europe. Quite simply, it's a big deal and United were in the final against a team from Germany, Bayern Munich.

In the days leading up to the match I found out that United were not only the winners of their league, they were also the winners of the FA Cup, an annual NCAA-style tourney which pits each and every team in England against each other. They were going for history. No team had ever won all three major competitions in the same year. I decided I would watch and, more importantly, would root for United.

In one of those serendipidous occurences, the 1999 Champions League Final was the most dramatic in the long history of the competition. It didn't start out that way though. For 90 minutes, United was lackluster and Munich was juuuust good enough to be ahead. Then it happened.

During the three minutes of added time, Manchester United earned themeslves a place in history and my dedication forever. In the 91st minute, they had a corner kick. David Beckham (yes THAT David Beckham) launched it into the box. The ball came bouncing out to Ryan Giggs who sent it towards the net where Teddy Sheringham was there to slot it home.

I sliently raised my arms in the air. "NICE!" was my proclamation. A little underwhelming to be sure. My bad.

Two minutes later my loyalty was cemented. With seconds remaining, United again earned a corner kick and again, it was Beckham who would take it. The ball curled in to Sheringham who mis fired on a header. Fortunately the ball was sent down to a Norwegian player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who like alll good scorers in any sport, found a way to get the goal. In this case it was a clever little toe flick which sent the ball into the roof of the net, and sent me into the celieng in my room.

"OH MY GAWD," and then.... like clockwork, "That was freakin' awesome!"

Take a look at what I am talking about here.

It was one of the most dramatic sporting events I have ever seen. I became a fan on that day. Not a dediacted one yet, but I had a favorite team. I also had a favorite player. After seeing that winning goal I did my research on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. I discovered that he was well-known for his ability to take advantage of any kind of scoring chance. It reminded me of another athelete who had that description....my favorite athelete of all time, Mike Bossy.

Well than cinched it. Since then I have followed them as best I could. After the World Cup of 2002, and the subsequent dramatic increase in EPL matches here in the States, I became more than just a fan of the team. I became what is known in England as a "supporter."

The lockout of the 2004-2005 season helped me develop a greater sense of loyalty and connection to United because I was able to watch more games than ever before and I did not have the Islanders to dampen any kind of good mood I was in. Since the move down here to MD I have found a nice Irish pub to watch all of the games during the season.

Have I jumped on a bandwagon? Some would argue absolutely. Others,ones who know me, would say no. I'm not one to jump on a bandwagon. Just look at how why I became an Arizona Diamondbacks fan (a future blog, I'm sure). I would argue that my loyalty for the team was formed in the same way that it was formed for the Islanders. That is to say they earned my loyalty by creating memorable moments for a person who was wanting to see them. In addition, they had (and continue to do so in United's case) the same kind of player that I love to watch.

So here I am, in 2006 with a spanking new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer jersey on its way from the United team store at Old Trafford (their home stadium) looking forward to the beginning of the season on August 20th against Fulham. In order to cement my loyalty to the club, I have begun looking into travel option so I can go to at least one game at Old Trafford.

Why the long post? Well just wanted you guys to know what I will probably be doing should you call me while a game is on this year...and to warn you if you see me in a bright red soccer jersey with a weird Norwegian name on the back.